Boring Meeting? Doodle Your Way to Better Concentration

When I wrote my sarcastic ode to PowerPoint the other day, one of my readers chimed in with a humorous comment defending the practice of printing out slide decks as meeting hand-outs. He (or she) wrote, "You gotta remember that PPT print-outs give your attendees an important opportunity to doodle on the pages -- very important for business!!"

While the comment was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, it made me think back to an article I read in Wired magazine earlier this year. Believe it or not, doodling has been shown to improve focus and attention.

A study in Applied Cognitive Psychology found that a slightly distracting secondary task may actually improve concentration during the performance of dull tasks that would otherwise cause a mind to wander, according to Wired's Brandon Keim.

Study co-author Jackie Andrade, a University of Plymouth psychologist, said in the article, ""It takes a large cognitive load to daydream. That has a big impact on the task you're meant to be doing. Doodling takes only a small cognitive load, but it's just enough to keep your mental resources focused on the main task."

What does this mean in the business world? It means that my reader had a real point. Having paper in front of you and idly doodling while you're in a boring presentation or meeting can help you pay more attention and retain more information than if you just sat there and zoned out.

Not the artistic type? Never fear; doodling is for everyone. Need a jump start? Find out how to draw a doodle at Squidoo.com.

Doodle on, dudes.